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Here is an updated biography, the second, on Henry Law Watts.
The changes and new findings are italicized. Many thanks go out to
Lee Liles owner of the National
Museum of Horse Shoeing Tools and Hall of Honor, Sulphur, Oklahoma. Don
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HENRY LAW WATTS
(1826 – 1887)
Henry
Law Watts, St. Peter,
Nicollet County, Minnesota, ca. 1880
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| Henry Law
Watts was born 9 August 1826 in Worthington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts and baptized
in the Congregational Church 13 May 1827. His parents, John Watts, Junior and
Philura ("Lury") Anable Watts, had fifteen children. Henry is the next to
the youngest male child, Osmyn being the youngest. Since there are two children that
have not been found, likely stillborn or died young, Henry may be known as the eleventh
child. Henry
married Nancy Celestia Bemis, of Chester, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, probably in
1849. Nancy was the daughter of Joseph Bemis and Betsey Cole Bemis. She was
born 28 January 1835.
Henry and Nancy had ten children; they were born in
Springfield (Julia Ann, 1850; Willie E., 1856; Nettie J., 1858), Worthington (Jason B,
1852), South Hadley (John Henry, 1855), Northampton (George Washington, 1862), Amherst
(William Irving, 1863) and Hadley (Edna L., 1870; Ada Norma Eliza, 1877). There is a
tenth child, name unknown.
Henry was a blacksmith, probably all of his adult life.
He lived in Massachusetts, and had businesses in a number of the following places,
all of which are in Massachusetts, except for two:
1850
Springfield
1852 Worthington
1855 South Hadley
1856 Springfield
1857, May - 1858, May, Franklin Street, Springfield [Blacksmith]
1858, May – 1859, May, West Worthington Street, Springfield [Blacksmith]
1859 Chester
1861 East Street, Amherst
1862 North Street, Amherst
1862 Northampton
1863 Amherst
1865 Hadley and Amherst
1870 and 1877 Hadley
1880 – 1881 3rd Street, St. Peter, Nicollet County, Minnesota (here, Henry had
a joint business with his son, George Washington Watts: WATTS & SON,
HORSESHOERS)
1884, July – 980 Main Street, Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut
[Blacksmith]
1886 - 1887 South Street, Hadley
There is, of course, much more to find out
about Henry and his wife, and that will happen with time. Here is what we positively
know about him.Henry accidentally died by drowning in the Connecticut River at Hadley, 15
May 1887, around 6:00 PM:
Headline: Hampshire County. Special
Announcement; Article Type: News/Opinion; Paper: Springfield Republican; Date:
05-16-1887; Page: 6; Location: Springfield, Massachusetts |
DROWNING AT HADLEY
Henry L. Watts,
formerly living in this city
and proprietor of a blacksmith-shop on South
street, was drowned in the Connecticut river at
Hadley about 6 o’clock last evening. He rowed
out into the stream to secure a barrel he saw
drifting, and in leaning over the edge of the
boat was capsized. The craft drifted away
from him and he struck out for shore, but
was drowned a short distance from the bank
in sight of his wife. Mr. Watts moved to
Hadley a year ago, where he bought a place,
built a blacksmith-shop and did a good busi-
ness. He was a successful inventor, and sold a
device for making horse-shoes. He was a mem-
ber of the Methodist church and leaves a widow
and four children. Of his sons, John Watts
has a blacksmith-shop at Amherst and William
is in the employ of the Dickinson Bros ad Had-
ley. A daughter, Edna, is the wife of Frank
H. Gilligan of this city, and a younger daugh-
ter lives at the Hadley home. Men were drag-
ging the river last evening to recover his body.
Headline: Hampshire County. Ware. Important Real
Estate Sales; Article Type: News/Opinion; Paper: Springfield Republican;
Date: 05-18-1887; Page: 6; Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
The body of H. L. Watts, who was drowned at Hadley Sunday, was found
by his son yesterday morning. The funeral will be held today.
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Henry made application for four U.S. Patents and all four were issued:
(1) Horseshoe
Machine, Patent 24,596; Issue Date: June 28, 1859; Current U.S. Class: 59/52; 59/54.
"…a new and useful Improvement in Machinery for Making
Horseshoes…" and,
(2) Horse-Detacher,
Patent 241,169; Issue Date: May 10, 1881; Current U.S. Class: 278/28. "The
object of this invention is to provide a simple and effective means whereby a horse can be
instantly released from the vehicle to which he is attached at the option of the
driver." This patent was assigned by Henry to Theodore G. Carter for a reason
that is unknown.
(3) Hoof Parer, Patent 241,170; Issue Date: May
10, 1881; Current U.S. Class: 30/185. "The object of this invention is to
provide a farrier’s tool for preparing the hoof of a horse for the reception of the
shoe." (In the picture of Henry Law Watts, above, Henry is holding the Hoof Parer and
a Hoof Parer is situated on his tool box.)
(4) Horseshoe, No
Model, Patent 246,928; Issue Date September 13, 1881; Current U.S. Class: 168/11 168/12
168/26. "…have invented certain new and useful Improvements in
Horseshoes…The object of this invention is to produce a horseshoe that can be readily
adapted for light or heavy draft and be suited to any road or weather without removing the
shoe from the foot…"
Nancy married Carlo Bemis of Paxton, Massachusetts, the
following year, 1888. This was Carlo’s second marriage; his first wife died in
1887. Carlo died November 1904; he and Nancy had no children. Nancy died in
April 1910 in Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut and was buried with Henry and their
youngest daughter, Ada Norma Eliza, in Hadley, Massachusetts.
24
April 1910, page 14, Windsor, CT. The death of Mrs Clestie [sic] Bemis, 76, occurred at
the home of her grandson Henry W. Watts of Pierson lane [Windsor, Connecticut], on
Thursday [21 April 1910], from diseases incidental to old age. She was a native of
Chester, Mass. The funeral was held yesterday [23 April 1910] morning from the
undertaking rooms of Merwin & Leek, and the body was taken to Hadley, Mass, for
burial., Springfield Republican, Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts.
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Reverse side of New England
Agricultural Society Silver Medal |
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Obverse side of New England
Agricultural Society Silver Medal |
In January 2012, Henry’s great
great grandson, Donald Eugene Watts, found Henry’s "Watts’ Patent Acme
Shoe" case at the National Museum of Horse Shoeing Tools and Hall of Honor, owned and
operated by Lee Liles, National Museum of Horseshoeing Tools and Hall of Honor, 7781 US
HWY N 177, Sulphur, OK 73086-9656. According to the display information included in
the lid of the box, Henry was awarded two Silver Medals by the New England Agricultural
Society (date not specified, but we may assume that it was after 13 September 1881, the
date that Henry received the patent for his horseshoes). The New England
Agricultural Society, formed in 1864 and ceased operations in 1906, was organized to
encourage the improvement and growth of the food and agriculture industry in the New
England States. The obverse features farm animals along with the State Seals of each
of the New England States: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
and Vermont.
An example of the silver medal (seen above) is in the
Decorative Art Collections, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University.
The URL is: http://library24.library.cornell.edu:8280/luna/servlet/detail/CORNELL~1~1~27729~97002480:New-England-Agricultural-Society
William E. Barber
(1807-1879), the artist of the medal, was born in London and learned engraving from his
father, John. He worked as die engraver in London before immigrating with his family to
Boston in 1852. He was hired by Gorham Company as a die engraver for ornamental embossing
of silver plate. Barber was hired as the assistant engraver at the United States Mint in
Philadelphia in 1865 and was promoted to head engraver in 1869. The medal was minted
by the US Mint in Philadelphia.
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Here is a picture of "Watts’ Patent Acme Shoe
[Case]," taken by Lee Liles and sent to Donald, 4 January 2012. |
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| ORIGINS
Historical Research
Donald E. Watts
E - ORIGINS@frontier.com
H - 304-725-0571
C - 304-676-7034 |
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